Eastern Iowa Economic Forum

Remarks of Sen. Chuck Grassley
Chairman, Committee on Finance
Eastern Iowa Economic Forum, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2003 in Cedar Rapids

It's good to be in Cedar Rapids, where Quaker Oats has such a large presence. In May 2002, the Senate was about to vote to grant the President Trade Promotion Authority. I'd been talking non-stop, it seemed, about how Trade Promotion Authority would help grow the manufacturing and farm economies in Iowa. I kept telling everyone how Iowa's economy - and every state's economy - depends on robust trade. But I needed an example.

The folks at Quaker Oats told my staff that they were watching the trade debate and hoping Congress would deliver Trade Promotion Authority to the President. At the time, Quaker Oats was especially interested in seeing the United States establish trade agreements with Latin American countries. Those agreements would put the company in a better position to export its products to Latin America. Greater exports could enhance sales and help create additional jobs beyond the 1,300 Quaker Oats workers already in Cedar Rapids.

Well, it took a few more months of debate in Congress, but we passed Trade Promotion Authority for the President. And soon afterward, the President and his negotiators got to work. They dusted off trade agreements that never went anywhere before. You see, without Trade Promotion Authority, the United States couldn't assure potential trade partners that it could deliver on its agreements. That meant our trade agreements were stalled.

One of the first trade agreements the Bush administration dusted off was a United States-Chile free agreement. The two nations recently concluded negotiations on a free trade agreement. The agreement is a win-win for both countries. The agreement gives U.S. farmers and workers unprecedented access to the Chilean market. It also gives Chile the opportunity to continue its economic successes in the United States. More foreign investment in Chile will help that nation's open economy grow, increasing prosperity there. Meanwhile, Iowa businesses, which had seen their share of a nationwide drop in exports to Chile in the absence of Trade Promotion Authority, will be able to make up for this lost ground.

Now back to Quaker Oats. It may be that Chile will be receptive to Quaker Oats' products. Our preferential access to the Chilean market certainly will help Quaker Oats compete in Chile against other foreign companies. So, I suspect that if the Chileans like oatmeal, and I hope they do and they'll eat it every morning like me, Quaker Oats will be able to boost its exports to Chile. That could add capacity and create jobs in the United States - Iowa jobs, I hope.

That's an example of just one company and one free trade agreement with one nation. When you think about all of the farmers and manufacturers in Iowa and the rest of the United States, and all of the world nations interested in trading with the United States, you see that the potential benefits of free trade are limitless.

Trade Promotion Authority made this possible. It put the United States back at the negotiating table. Now we can make sure that the interests of Quaker Oats and all other Iowa companies are represented at that negotiating table. With the authority and credibility to negotiate new trade agreements, we can knock down unfair foreign barriers to our products. Our companies can compete on a level playing field around the world. And, as their exports grow, Iowa's economy grows.

What's really exciting is, the Chilean agreement is just the beginning. We're just getting back in the trade game. We now have opportunities to open markets throughout Latin America with the Free Trade Area of the Americas. Our trade negotiators are also working on trade agreements with Morocco, the South African Customs Union, the five nations of Central America, and Australia. And of course, the biggest bang for our buck here in Iowa will be the completion of a new round of agriculture and other negotiations under the World Trade Organization. All of this will mean new opportunities for Iowans. As the old saying goes, the best is yet to come.